Category: REVIEWS
Sweden Rock Festival 2012 [part 2]
Wednesday, June 6 – Swedish national day.
After only a few hours of sleep, I went straight to the train station to pick up my Russian colleague Vera (who now lives in Gothenburg) and we drove up to Sweden Rock Festival.
It was pretty early when we arrived so it didn’t take long to get our passes. Vera was going to the camping with some friends so I went to take a look around the area. It had changed a little this year – the press/VIP area had been moved and the entrances were elsewhere so I had to get reaquainted with this place that has been my second home since the 90’s. :) I can’t imagine a summer without Sweden Rock.
I quickly found the VIP area and the press tent. The first person I saw was, like every other year, the photographer from Expressen, Rickard Nilsson – he was working in there on his Mac, very concentrated on editing a photo when I walked in. :) He later on helped me get my camera batteries and laptop charged when there were just no power outlets in the press area for instance. It’s nice to have old friends there year after year, we can help eachother out.
I spent all afternoon just checking out the area, the merch, the food, everything…. And noticed a music tent that was filled with musicians every day – amateurs and professionals. The staff in there was so nice that it ended up being sort of a little “sanctuary” during the whole festival. That’s also where they had musicians from some of the bands visiting.
The best thing was that nobody seemed to know about it…! The only info there was, was on a sign outside their tent, nowhere else, so luckily there weren’t that many people at the signings, which gave it all an intimate, cool atmosphere.That first day I only had 2 shows that I wanted to see, both Swedish, melodic rock acts:
H.E.A.T and Dynazty (whose album is still one of my favorites this year).
H.E.A.T played in broad daylight but managed to really get the audience going. Just that one small detail that separated H.E.A.T from Dynazty for instance was that H.E.A.T’s guitarist walked out, went straight to the edge of the stage and took immediate contact with the audience – THAT’S how you create a connection between band and crowd.
Although it was a little bit too much melody for me, I still have to give them credit for handling the stage like real pros.
Went to see Dynazty later in the evening, and it got really cold by then. Met two ladies that I got to know at the Whitesnake-gigs last year. They were also die-hard fans and one of them show me a tattoo she got recently – of the WS-logo! Very cool.
Anyway, my friends Mari and Henrik showed up too and we ended up hanging at the barricades waiting for the show cause there was nothing else to do. Dynazty finally hit the stage.
Their gig was good – but not brilliant. And I was trying to pin-point exactly why. Cause the vocals were good, the playing was good and they obviously had a good time on stage… But – it still wasn’t magic, it didn’t give me the kick that separates a good gig from a great one. Then it hit me, it was pretty simple actually: They lacked the contact with the crowd that a band MUST have. If you don’t look at people and acknowledge their existence, you’re taking away the exchange of energy between crowd-band that makes a show memorable.
The very same thing used to bother me with Rob Halford when he went up on stage wearing black sunglasses, insisting on staring at his shoes. It was like…”helloooo, we’re here?!”
It was cold as fuck too, maybe that had a bit to do with it too, I don’t know. But for a first day this was perfect. I drove home to get a few hours of sleep before the next day when I was about to make a complete ass of myself in front of Steel Panther‘s Satchel, reporters and god knows what else…!
Stick around.
[to be continued..]
My Year in Rock – retrospect 2011 (part 1)
I sat down last night to write a summary of my year 2011. I was amazed to find how just one year, can feel like ten. 2011 has been a fantastic and memorable year for me.
I have travelled all over Europe, squeezing in a short visit to the States as well. I took the interviewing to a new level, by introducing video-interviews for this blog.
Speaking of the blog – it’s hard to believe that I launched it in February 2011, less than a year ago. Since then, it has established itself faster than I thought was possible.
Maybe because some readers who have followed me online since 1996 continued to follow my scribblings here, and it kind of went from there.
The past few months, I’ve ended up on Blabbermouth several times, which automatically drew a few thousand readers more than usual.
But, here’s how I remember my rockin’ year of 2011:
New Years Day 2011. I was browsing the web for info on gigs w. Gus G, who I had seen with Ozzy at Madison Square Garden in NYC a few weeks earlier. He totally blew me away. I found his MySpace-page and saw that Firewind had a gig in London only 7 days later.
FIREWIND in London – first gig of 2011
I found myself taking off to a rainy London a few days later, for the first gig of 2011. It was great, and also what started the Gus G/Ozzy/Firewind-galore of 2011, where I deliberately, and undeliberately, ended up seeing mentioned super-guitarist no less than 19 times… All of which could be followed in the separate blog Setting The World On Fire.
[Front row, Relentless Garage, London, UK – some blonde girl (=me), and a bunch of dark-haired guys…!]
TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra) & JON OLIVA – no go
March included a few concerts, but also a planned but missed one. I was supposed to go to Zurich to see the TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra)-gig because Jon Oliva was going to be a part of that tour, and as JOP (Jon Oliva’s Pain) hadn’t toured since the fall 2010, I wanted to see him. Was curious to see the US-phenomenon TSO at the same time, on their first tour to Europe. Due to personal issues, Jon couldn’t make it and I decided not to go either – money spent on the flight ticket went down the drain, but shit happens.BAD HABIT – the first video interview for In The Rearview Mirror
One of the best classic AOR-bands in Sweden, Bad Habit, announced a release-party and gig at Club Stairway To Heaven in Malmö. I’ve been a big fan of these guys since 1987, so I called the “band boss” Hal Marabel to set up a time for a video interview.
I’ve done TV-hosting, but video-interviews for the web was completely new to me.
My friend Henrik Hansson, former bassplayer of the band Hollywood, is good at filming and editing, so I asked him if he was in. He took it as a new challenge that he was happy to take on. Since this first “test-round” with Bad Habit, we have continued doing more and better video interviews throughout 2011.
Bad Habit kicked it all off, and they played a great gig that night, on the 11th of March 2011.
INTERVIEW HERE.
MEGADETH & SLAYER – Aarhus, Denmark
I took the day off to go to Aarhus, Denmark, a three hour long train-ride, to see Megadeth on March 21. Oh, headliners were Slayer, but I must be the only person on the planet who isn’t a huge fan of Slayer. I LOVED Megadeth’s performance, they kicked ass, had so much energy, it was just top notch. When Slayer went onstage I stayed for one song, then I had more than enough and went down to the train station to catch the night train back to work…
REVIEW HERE.
MIKE TRAMP – I remember you (interview and release party at The Rock, Copenhagen)
Only a few days after the Megadeth-gig, it was time to head back to Denmark to meet Mike Tramp, former singer of White Lion. Before the interview, I had e-mailed a photo taken at the last interview I had done with him in The tivoli in Helsingborg, Sweden, a few years before.
Funny enough, he remembered me. So, he took time to do the video interview during sound check the day of his release party for his new album “Stand Your Ground” on the 24th of March.
He is a very easy guy to interview, talks a lot, is very open and easygoing, every journalist’s dream. He is also a skilled artist and frontman, definitely enjoyed the gig later that evening.
Funny enough, I enjoyed the slightly “different” in-store gig that he did in a record store in central Copenhagen two days later, even more. More about that in the blog from that day: http://lita77777.posterous.com/in-store-gig-the-way-music-is-supposed-to-be
DORO – The Metal Queen visited Malmö
April was a pretty slow month by my standards. One of the highlights was Doro visiting Malmö on April 9, for an acclaimed concert at KB (Kulturbolaget).
Was also glad to see Chris, the merch guy, there. I first met him on tour with Jon Oliva, then with W.A.S.P and now with Doro. He was going out on the road with Arch Enemy as well but I never met him on that tour. Always nice to meet people you know, he’s a really cool guy.
There wasn’t enough time to set up an interview with Doro, but her record company and management were nice to deal with, so hopefully it can be arranged next time she comes to this part of the world. :-)
REVIEW & VIDEO HERE.
K.K Downing left Judas Priest
April was the month when one of the legends in the world of metal, announced that he was calling it quits. K.K Downing left Judas Priest under the most strange excuses and curcumstances. I got the news on Facebook April 20th… It was just two months before their Farewell tour was supposed to start, and I for one was shocked and pissed off all at the same time. The frustration didn’t go away until I actually saw Richie Faulkner on stage with Priest, and got a chance to ask him a thing or two at the press conference at Sweden Rock. But more about that later….
Matt LaPorte – guitarist of JOP, R.I.P……
Terrible news reached me on April 21st. A friend from the band (JOP) sent me a message so that I wouldn’t have to hear about it online. Matt LaPorte, guitarist with Jon Oliva’s Pain, and an important part of the “JOP-family” that I have so often described, had passed away in his sleep.
Nobody knew at that point what had happened, his room-mate found him when he came home, nothing more was ever mentioned. It suppose that the details didn’t really matter, it was sad news. He was my age, a life ahead of him and a very talented musician.But, something positive comes out of even the most tragic situations. A tribute-concert was held for him in July, which gave his friends and bandmates a chance to get together and remember…. R.I.P Matt.
Blogs about Matt: Matt 1 — Matt 2 — Matt 3
AMARANTHE – best debut of 2011
I was sent to interview this band in Gothenburg for Sweden Rock Magazine, but the article ended up being so short and isignificant in the mag, that I decided to give them the exposure they deserved elsewhere – on YouTube.
The first time I saw them was when I went to meet up with my friend Hanneke, light tech for JOP who was out with Kamelot (or possibly with the other act on the tour, Leave’s eyes) in Gothenburg. (Mentioned HERE)
They played Trädgår’n and it’s one of the few times that an unknown opening act gets my attention. Amaranthe were amazing. I’ve never seen such perfectionism on a stage by a “debut band”. I didn’t know at the time that the members were anything but new in the business.Henrik and I drove to Copenhagen and Amager Bio on May 15th, to talk to this kick-ass band (whose debut album had pretty much just been released. I wrote a very positive review in SRM, which guitarist Olof later on mentioned had helped a lot in the initial stage of promoting the band).
I predicted a very bright future for this band, and it turns out that I was right. In a very short time, they have definitely gotten a LOT of exposure for their deathmetal pop. 2011 was Amaranthe’s year and I’m really happy to see that they have done so well. Not only are they talented, they are also damn nice people, so – thumbs up and the best of luck in 2012 too guys!
ARTICLE AND VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE.
HELIX – Brian Vollmer talks about the ups and downs of stardom
My Canadian friend Sean e-mailed me one day and asked if I would be interested in doing an interview with Canadian band Helix. They had a few things going on, so I figured why not. Just like most rockers out there, I only associate the band with “Rock You” and “Heavy Metal Love”. As it turned out, there was a lot more than that to this band. It was published in this blog May 14th and can be found HERE.
JUNE was a crazy month. That’s when the ball REALLY started rolling. So, I’ll stop right here and continue this New Year’s blog 2011 with a part 2 – stick around! :-)
PART TWO: http://lita77777.posterous.com/my-year-in-rock-retrospect-2011-part-2
Sonisphere report – soon :)
The plan was to give you guys a report from Sonisphere, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
I spent all night on a cold, hard floor at Heathrow, keeping myself awake with caffeine chewing gums (those saved me many times this summer on these rock’n’roll journeys) and friends on MSN who kept me company all night. :-)
WHY did I end up sitting on a floor at Heathrow all night, you ask…? Well, that’ll be in the next blog too…
Needless to say, my brain feels like mashed potatoes right now so the actual Sonisphere blog will hopefully be up some time tomorrow.
In the meantime, a few videos from Thessaloniki – better late than never (I’ll probably upload tons of stuff in November or something when things cool down a little bit and I have time to actually sit and organize all this material).
Rob Halford being attacked by a cuddly fan on stage. I couldn’t believe it when the guy just ran up there! Surprised that security were that quick to get him out of there though…
From one of their best performances in a while… Heading Out To The Highway in Greece…
There will be more. Soon. :)
And of course, Thessaloniki’s pride & joy FIREWIND:
SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL – MEMORIES
Only a few days before the madness begins again: Sweden Rock Festival.
Sweden Rock is HOME to me. I’ve been there every single year for the past 17 years.
[My pass from 1995, can’t find the one from 1994…Note that the festival used to be called “Karlshamn Rock Festival”]
Things have changed since then. They have REALLY changed. In 1994 there was no Sweden Rock Magazine and the festival was called Karlshamn Rock Festival. As far as I remember, it wasn’t a big deal to anyone back then – not like today when you have people from all over the world showing up at the camping days before the festival begins.
In 1995 I was there to talk to Black Sabbath, and had a great talk with Cozy Powell and Tony Martin at the hotel in Karlshamn (the audio file from that interview has already been published in this blog). Cozy was great, he was joking all the time and when I think about Cozy I just see a man with a big smile.
[Just my luck! The ONE photo I’ve got of Cozy and me, and of course I had to blink!]
There was always a good vibe at the hotel those first few years. All the artists were staying there and fans usually knew about it, but it was still a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
[Tony Martin (Black Sabbath) in hotel lobby 1995]
Well, years went by and the festival just grew. I have great memories from every single year, I could probably write a book – but this is as close as it gets to being a book. :)
It went from being over just a weekend to being 3 days…to 4 days… Of course it moved from Karlshamn to “the middle of nowhere” a field in Norje Boke – Solvesborg, Blekinge, Sweden.Nowadays it’s the biggest festival (or one of them) in Sweden, bands from all over the world know about it, fans from all over the world are coming to attend the 4 days of metal madness.
And me, well… it feels like coming home. I love Sweden Rock Festival, it’s just everything that I love:I get to see my favorite bands over a few days, I meet friends, bands, colleagues – people I don’t usually see unless it’s Sweden Rock (photographers, record company people, management people, people working for the festival…). It’s metal in its most compact form, everything in one place. Music 24/7 – I’m in heaven. Sure, you get tired, your feet are aching, you don’t get enough sleep, food is freaking expensive, and there are drunk assholes every here and there… but even with all that, it’s still worth it. :)
Partying with Dio’s band at Karlshamn hotel…. not sure what year it was, but they were truly having a good time!
I could probably pick at least one band or artist from every year 1994-2010 that I have some kind of memories from. So, there would be a lot.
One of the first things that comes to mind was the year when Rob Halford and his own band Halford headlined the festival. I had been at the hotel hanging with the band the night before. Well, I had actually been hanging in the bar alone, thinking that I couldn’t/wouldn’t disturb the guys who were sitting at a table pretty much right behind me.
But one of them recognized me from a few months back when I had been at a meet-and-greet thing and invited me to come and sit at their table. They were wild, the manager left his credit card and asked them to pay for his drink because he needed to get some sleep. Needless to say, that credit card ended up being used for more than just ONE drink…! :)
In the morning, I saw said manager in the lobby, upset because he had missed the shuttle that drives artists and crew to the festival site. The next shuttle was due in about an hour and he needed to get to the festival area asap. I just told him that I was driving down there anyway so he was welcome to join me if he didn’t mind riding in the small Renault that I had back then. He had no problem with that, so off we went.
Man, that man could TALK! He went on and on about everything that had to do with Rob and I thought to myself that if I had been one of those sensation-seeking journalists, that would have been perfect! However, what’s off the record IS off the record as far as I’m concerned. I guess my morals won’t get me far in this business. Others are willing to cash in on anything, as long as they are exposing others.
[Rob Halford, backstage about an hour before he hit the stage with HALFORD, 2002]
When we got to the festival, he wanted me to take him all the way to Rob’s dressing-room. I told him I couldn’t go there because I didn’t have a car pass. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this!” he said.
Sure enough, when we got to the first gate, the security guy stopped the car and I opened the window. Halford’s manager leaned over me and looked at the guy going: “Do you know who I am? I am Rob Halford’s manager. She is taking me to the dressing rooms, okay?”
The guy didn’t question anything – he just nodded and opened the gate. It was like Open Sesame all the way through, and next thing I know, I’m parked right outside Rob’s dressing room…
Manager walks off, comes back with a laminate that he gives me. I was welcome to walk around freely. When I checked, I saw that he gave me the best pass you can get – the artist pass. Works everywhere. I could have walked up on stage if I wanted to.
Then there was the year that Sebastian Bach was supposed to play. Those of you who know me, also know that Sebastian is an old friend. That year, I had Kevin from Jon Oliva’s Pain visiting me and since he and Baz are both from Canada, pretty much from around the same area, I figured they would probably hit it off. Either they would become great friends or they would hate eachother’s guts. I wasn’t sure which, but we drove to the festival early that morning to make it on time.
While we were still on the motorway I get a text from my friend at the production office, who informed me that Sebastian had cancelled. He was stuck at the airport, wouldn’t make it on time. So… this is a pass for a meeting that never happened. I had met Baz a few years before when he played Sweden Rock, but this was such a bummer…. another “classic” Sweden Rock memory.
I guess I could go on and on…. there is a lot more... I’m sure there will be more stories here whenever I take a walk down Memory Lane again.
But for now, all I can say is that I can’t wait to see all those great bands – and meet new and old friends for a Rock’n’roll Extravaganza de Luxe!
A band worth checking out
Here’s a band you should definitely check out: Amaranthe, a fairly new band that plays…. well, it’s kind of difficult to categorize what they do, maybe deathpop/technometal – or make up your own word for it.
I don’t think there is a typical category for this band and that is exactly what I love about them.
The first time I heard Amaranthe was when I went to Gothenburg last year to say hi to my friend Hanneke, the light tech, she was out on the Kamelot-tour. She was doing lights for Amaranthe as well that night, and I remember how I was standing there thinking “oh well, some opening act… Opening acts usually suck…”
But it didn’t take more than a few minutes before the band had my full attention.
I was blown away by Elize, she had one HELL of a voice, it could blow off the roof!
Very few people can sing like that live and hit every single note, crystal clear.
She was amazing, no doubt about it. I loved the unique concept of three vocalists that are total contrasts, yet it works perfectly.
[My highly illegal footage from that show ;P Maybe not the best song but the best clip qualitywise]
Jake’s clean vocals, Andy’s growl, and Elize’s strong clear voice, each and every one makes a perfect fit in every song… – needless to say, I was floored! The songs were great, the quality of the vocalists and the musicians was high, and they dared to bring something new and unique to the table.
After that, I went straight to their MySpace-page and added them (http://www.myspace.com/amaranthemetal ).
Now – a year later, they just released their self titled debut album. That was only a few months ago – and it freaking ROCKS!I went to Gothenburg to do an interview with the band for Sweden Rock Magazine not too long ago. Had a really good talk, damn nice guys – I probably would have stayed there a lot longer if it hadn’t been for the fact that my sister was there too and I didn’t want to bore her (she’s not a metalhead).
Got a great interview but the deadline for the article was the next day and what ended up in the mag was next to nothing, which was total bad luck, but it happens.
People love to hate this band, the old school metalheads have a hard time accepting this kind of crossover style, just the way everybody hated Van Halen’s “Jump” when it first came out. Today, it’s a classic. Somebody had to be first.
I think it’s brave and damn cocky to do this and then handle the critics with a smile. Very cool in my book. *horns up* Amaranthe are now out on the road with Kamelot again, so if you’re out in Europe somewhere wondering if it’s worth checking out – it IS.And hopefully, if it can be arranged, I’m hoping to do a video interview with the band, cause I think that their journey has only just begun. We’ll see what happens.
And now – check them out:
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 